Egypt arrests head of Customs Authority for alleged bribery

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CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has arrested the head of its Customs Authority, Gamal Abdelazim, on suspicion of accepting bribes to permit the entry of banned goods into the country without customs duties, the Administrative Control Authority said in a statement on Monday.

The statement did not specify what types of goods were smuggled or the value of the alleged bribes.

It said that Abdelazim had also directed employees to reduce the fines owed for goods that had been seized.

His case will now be transferred to the public prosecutor, it said, without specifying the likely penalty.

Egypt’s Administrative Control Authority has in recent months raised several corruption-related cases against commodity and trade-related individuals, including the head of the state food-purchasing agency FIHC and officials at the ministry of supply.